Reader Reviews
Diane Donovan | Midwest Book Review
Antonio Lucero
“Whether readers come to the story for its Chinese roots and heritage; its restaurant business insights; or for the evolution of a young woman who followed family tradition in following an unexpected path, Dancing in Their Light will reach a wide audience of followers with its engrossing juxtapositions of past, present, and future worlds.
Ideally, it will find a place not only in libraries strong in business and Chinese family memoirs, but in book club discussion circles looking for titles about immigrant experience, Chinese family history, and a daughter's lessons that led her to her own successes.
Inspirational and enlightening, Dancing in Their Light is a memoir that is hard to put down.”
“My wife, Anna Lucero, and I just read your book Dancing In Their Light. I was quite moved towards the end - my eyes watered up. Thank you for such a human-felt memoir.“
Lanny Fox | Brooklyn, New York
“I finished your memoir yesterday and took a day to let it all sink in, and I cannot come up with another word to describe it other than remarkable. Just REMARKABLE!!!!
You've lived the absolute coolest life, and I am so grateful that you shared your stories and family history with the world.”
Philippa Kelly | Oakland, California
"Through Debbie’s account of her family's origins and experiences, we can literally taste and smell the life of her family in the restaurant as they struggled to leave behind the abuses, hunger and fear that had overwhelmed their lives in China, bringing all of their resourcefulness and determination to make America their new homeland. Chinn is a gorgeous, unembellished writer. The best kinds of memoirs urge the reader to feel the truth of human experience for themselves as they absorb and hold a true stake in the lives that unfold - Chinn's book does just this."
Naomi Jackson | Fishers, Indiana
Anna Rickert | Akron, Ohio
“OMG….. I have laughed, belly laughed out loud and sobbed. It was wonderful for so many reasons. So many of the things your family went through in China can be parallel to my family and their experiences and fleeing. I laughed at some of the Mah Jong stories and I sobbed at your whole experience as a young teenager.”
Kevin Keegan | Silver Springs, Maryland
“You have a masterful writing style and a wonderful story to tell.”
“I just finished reading your book and I absolutely loved it. I was surprised how invested I got in the story of someone else's family -- I was so moved! Your writing invites us in, and the story of your parents and ancestors is so interesting, amazing, inspiring, and beautiful.”
Tom Montalbano l Syosset, New York
“I just finished Debbie Chinn's book, "Dancing In Their Light," and I wish it had another hundred pages! Great, great read!”
Craig Slaight l San Francisco, California
“An absolutely astonishing accomplishment! Your writing is exquisite, so bright, and inviting.”